ENERVATE

[Dr. Goodword]

• enervate •

Pronunciation: en-êr-veyt • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Verb, transitive

Meaning: 1. (Medicine) To remove a nerve. 2. To deprive of vitality or energy.

Notes: Today's word lies close to a trap that catches many of us: the confusion of this Good Word with its near antonym, innervate "to inject with vitality and energy". (The problem parallels the confusion of ensure "to make sure" and insure "to guarantee value by purchasing insurance", a problem to which we will return later in our series.) The action noun for today's word is enervation and the actor noun, enervator "someone who drainss vitality or energy from an endeavor". Enervative is the adjective.

In Play: Outside the hospital, this verb may be used metaphorically to refer to many kinds of weakening: "The new offer, which included the company yacht, enervated the last bit of resistance to the sale". Both these words find many applications in business (so long as they are not confused): "The replacement of our president innervated every level of our company while enervating our competitors."

Word History: This Good Word is built on the past participle, enervatus, of the Latin verb, enervare "to weaken by removing the sinews", from e(x)- "out of' + nervus "sinew", the source of our word nerve. The same root which produced nervus turned up in Greek without the initial [s], as neuron "sinew", the source of our word neuron, a type of brain cell.

[Brazilian dude]

a problem to which we will return later in our series.)

Sounds like one of the eighteen sequels of Friday the 13th.

Brazilian dude

[Stargzer]

Don't forget to add assure to that series.

From the mission statement of an organization with which I am waaaaaaayyyyyy too familiar:

We assure health care security for beneficiaries.

I guess they make sure that the "health care security" has warm, fuzzy feelings.

[Grogie]

Another wonderful word that isn,t used nearly often enough.

[M. Henri Day]

...

The same root which produced nervus turned up in Greek without the initial [s], as neuron "sinew", the source of our word neuron "brain cell".

Alas, this definition fails badly, both with respect to connotation (intension) and to denotation (extension). There are at least as many cells in the brain that are not neurons as there are those that are, and as many neurons outside the brain - not least in the gut - as there are inside that organ. The essential characteristics of neurons - or nerve cells - are their capacity to carry a so-called action potential and to communicate with other cells, most often themselves neurons by means of transmittor substances emitted into the synaptic gap between the cells (cf Wikipedia's article, admittedly not one of its best, but which does cover the essentials)....

Henri

[Slava]

A repeat here in 03/10, but a good one nonetheless. I can most definitely think of several people I've interacted with who proved most enervating. Not only did they suck the life blood from me, but they got on my nerves, too. Double whammy.

[LukeJavan8]

It does not take much to suck the life from someone.
Just a smirk, rolling of the eyes, smart remark, or
arrogant attitude.